A Python Project Structure That Scales With Your Application

One of the biggest differences between junior and senior Python developers is how they structure projects. As applications grow — especially APIs, microservices, and automation systems — a clean and scalable project layout becomes essential.

Here's a practical, production-tested structure I use across FastAPI, Django, and custom Python services.

Recommended Directory Structure

project/
  app/
    api/
    core/
    models/
    services/
    schemas/
    tests/
  scripts/
  config/
  requirements.txt
  Dockerfile

What each folder does:

• api/ → routers, controllers, endpoints
• core/ → settings, constants, utils, middleware
• models/ → ORM models (SQLAlchemy, Django)
• services/ → business logic, integrations, workflows
• schemas/ → Pydantic or serializer models
• tests/ → unit & integration tests
• scripts/ → ETL, maintenance tasks
• config/ → env files, deployment config, logging config

This separation scales very well as the project grows.

Why This Structure Works

✔ Clear boundaries

Business logic (services) stays separate from API routes.

✔ Easy testing

Each layer is isolated → reliable unit tests.

✔ Reusable components

Services and schemas can be imported across multiple projects.

✔ Reduced coupling

You can switch frameworks or ORMs without breaking core logic.

✔ Friendly for CI/CD & Docker

Clean directories → clean docker images → faster pipelines.

Bonus: Add Domain Layer for Complex Systems

For large enterprise systems:

domain/
  entities/
  value_objects/
  repositories/

This creates even cleaner architecture following DDD principles.

Final Thoughts

A good project structure isn't just about organization — it directly impacts maintainability, scalability, and developer happiness. By separating API, services, models, and domain logic, your Python application becomes easy to extend and ready for long-term growth.